Bears Cruise To 87-38 Win Over Maryland Eastern Shore

Princess Anne, Maryland -
Brown led from start to finish as senior Jason Forte scored 25 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field to lead the Bears to an 87-38 non-league win over Maryland Eastern Shore Friday afternoon.

The victory gives Brown its seventh non-league win of the season (7-7 overall), marking the third time since the Ivy League began playing basketball in 1954-1955 that the Bears had won seven or more non-league games in a season. Miller's 2001-2002 team won nine non-league games, while coach Stan Ward's 1966-1967 squad earned seven non-league victories.

Following an eight-day layoff, the Bears came out aggressively on both ends of the floor, building an early 19-point lead over Maryland Eastern Shore, to grab a 26-7 advantage on a lay-up by junior Luke Ruscoe with 8:29 remaining in the half. Brown led by as many as many as 24 points in the half, 47-23, on a three-point basket by Jason Forte, before settling on a 47-25 lead at intermission.

With 25 points this afternoon, Forte moved into sixth place on Brown's all time career scoring list with 1,327 points, moving past Joe Tebo, who scored 1,319 points from 1955-1958. Forte also had seven assists and six rebounds in the game.

Brown's swarming defense held the Hawks to 21 percent shooting for the game, allowing UMES to connect on just 13 of 62 shots from the field. The Bears shot a solid 53 percent from the field, connecting on 32 of 60 field goals, including 9 of 20 from behind the three-point arc.

All 13 Brown players who made the trip got into the scoring column. Freshman Adolphe Coulibaly scored eight of his 10 points in the second half for the Bears, and pulled down a season high seven rebounds. Freshman Keenan Jeppesen tied his career scoring high with eight points, and grabbed five rebounds, while freshman Eric Nordrum added a season high seven points.

The Bears, who have played five straight games on the road, will be on the road again to open their Ivy League season next Saturday, January 22, against Yale in New Haven. Game time is 7:00 p.m.